Lead alloy and process for making same



Patented Dec. 23, .1934.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTHEB MATHESIUS AND HANS MATHESIUS, F GHARLOTTENBUBG, NEAR- BERLIN,

' GERMANY.

LEAD ALLOY AND PROCESS FOR MAKING SAME.

Ho Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WALTHER MATHESIUS, professor and engineer, and HANSMATHE- srUs, engineer, citizens of Germany, residing at Charlottenburg,near Berlin, Germany, 17 2, Berliner Strasse, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Lead Alloys and Processes of Making Same, forwhich we have filed applications for patent in the followincountries-viz: Germany, Aug. 24, 1921; reat Britain, Aug. 24, 1922;Belgium, August 24, 1922; Switzerland, August 23, 1922; France,September 27, 1922, and Norway, September 20, 1922, and

of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in lead alloys and the process ofmaking the same, and more particularly in lead alloys containing analkaline earth metal and suitable for use as a bearing metal, thealkaline earth metal having the function of hardening the alloy. In themanufacture of alloys of this kind, metallic calcium and barium arecaused to combine with lead, by covering a bath of molten lead with alayer of the molten chlorides of the said metals, and intaoducingmetallic sodium into the bath of According to the ratio ofthe said saltscontained in the layer of chlorids different amounts of calcium andbarium are reduced and passed into the lead bath. However, this processcan not be used for reducing chlorid of strontium by sodium and thuspassing metallic strontium-into the bath of lead.

Ex riments have shown that a lead alloy containing calcium, barium, andstrontium Q at approximately any desired-ratio can be 40 made, if atfirst a salt calcium is put on the lead bath and the chlorid is reducedby the addition of sodium so as to produce a lead alloy which mainlycontains calcium as a hardening agent and a residue of sodium.

If now the first layer of chlorid is removed and in lieu thereof a layerof chlorid of strontium and chlorid of barium is :pplied to the bath,the metals are exchang ina degree corresponding to the ratio of thealloy,

layer of chlorid of- Application filed October 21, 1922. Serial No.596,144.

chlorids containedin the layer, the sodium being almost entirelyseparated from the and also a part of the calcium being replaced bymetallic strontium and barium. Thereby an alloy is obtained whichcontains all of the three alkaline earth metals, the amount of theindividual metals depending on the amount of the chlorids and sodiumapplied to the bath. For example, by the said process alloys can be madewhich con- 'tain 2 per cent of calcium, 1 per cent of strontium, and 1per cent. of barium. Such alloys are particularly suitable for use aslead bearing metals, because, by the combined action of the saidalkaline earth metals, the lower melting point of the alloy issubstantially the same and at about 290 centigrade, even if the ratio ofthe said metals is different, and because, when moderately heated abovethe said temperature, the alloy gives a very fluent molten solution.

We claim- 1. The herein described process, which consists in applying afused material containing chlor1d of strontium to a bath'of a moltenlead alloy containing calcium and an alkali metal.

2. The herein described process, which consists in applying chlorid ofstrontium and chlorid of barium to a bath of'a molten lead alloycontaining calcium and an alkali 7 metal.

3. The herein described process, which consists in applying chlorid ofstrontium to a bath of a molten lead alloy containing calcium andsodium.

4. The herein described process, which consists in first applying asurface layer of a molten salt containing chlorid of calcium to a bathof molten lead, adding metallic sodium to the bath, permitting reactionuntil the bath contains calcium and sodium, removing the surface layer,and applying to the bath a surface layer containing chlorid ofstrontium.

. 5. The herein described process, which consists in first applying asurface layer of a molten salt containing chlorid of calcium toa bath ofmolten lead, adding an alkali metal to the bath, permitting reactionuntil 100 of strontium and chlorid of 6. A shaft bearing formed of theherein described alloy consisting essentially of lead with about 2% ofcalcium; and about 2% of other alkaline earth metal.

macaw In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures 1n presence of twowltnesses.

WALTHER MATHESIUS. HANS MATHjESIUS. Witnesses:

\ ARTHUR SHROEDER,

Roam T. ANSPEGH.

